© 2024 KALW 91.7 FM Bay Area
KALW Public Media / 91.7 FM Bay Area
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Preserving The ADA While Saving Small Business

Just what is the Americans With Disabilities Act? Or the Unruh Act? Both this landmark piece of federal legislation, the Americans With Disabilities Act, and the state legislation that preceded it, the Unruh Act, work to create a necessary and commonsense framework to help remove barriers and ensure every American has access to public and private spaces….

Media reports and court records reveal a very few plaintiffs are each filing hundreds or even thousands of claims against small businesses.

While the ADA and Unruh Act reform advocates in the business community would argue that unlike other similar laws, when businesses are out of compliance with accessibility rules, there is no grace period for them to fix problems with their properties — and as a result, well-intentioned small business owners are targeted with predatory lawsuits that don't allow them to make changes to their stores or workspaces before they get buried with legal fees.

Advocates for the disabled counter that these bills undermine the very purpose of the landmark civil rights law, the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), and harm people with disabilities.

YLR host Jeff Hayden, and tonight’s co-host Dean Johnson, are joined by Redwood City attorney Kathrine R. Moore, Frederick Lustenberger, a certified access specialist (CASp), and Tony Han, operation manager at Tai Pan restaurant in Palo Alto.

Questions for Jeff, Dean and their guests? Please call, toll free, at (866) 798-8255.